Google Street View Steps Through the Front Door

So you might have noticed a few changes to Google Maps recently. Specifically, have you seen the “See Inside” button popping up on local listings?

Business listings here in Frederick, MD, such as Adventure Park USA, Hood College and the National Civil War Medicine Museum, now come with a custom tour of their locations. All of them have had visits from the Google Street View Team here.

Local restaurants, boutiques, car dealers and others look different when you “Google” them. In fact, over 250,000 small business countrywide now have Google Street View tours.

What started out as back in 2008 as a project to see in the world’s most famous museums has evolved into a simple one time process any small business owner can participate in.

You can now hire local trusted Google Photographers such as myself to work with you to make a customized Google Tour to show the world inside your business with only a few clicks. A Google Virtual tour can help you stand out in a crowd of static photographs.

And this matters across platforms. You’ll see the difference in Desktop, Tablets, and Mobile devices…

Recently I was invited by another Google Partner, DOM, along with the team at Wood Street, to their talk about local SEO, Adwords, and Design. If you were unable to make the event we shot a Virtual tour of the event below.

To see some examples of the Google Tour, check out these local business’s and their Google Tours…

Hood College

Bandshell at Baker Park

Why does it matter? A recent Google study on virtual tours shows that a restaurant with a Google Virtual Tour is 2X more likely to get a reservation. The 18-35 yr old demographic is 130% more likely.

This works because we all want more information. That’s why we go to Google in the first place. Your Google business listing is your company’s most visible asset. Improve your presence on Google Search with Street View content.

Google Maps gives you the opportunity to “plant your flag.” When prospective customers seek you out on Google Maps, make sure their first encounters are great ones.

Don’t take my word for it. Here some more information from Google’s Case Study on Virtual Tours…

“Choosing the right restaurant, cafe or hotel is often a complicated decision. Build consumer trust in your business with a high–quality, third–party–produced virtual tour that lets people experience your location before they arrive. These immersive, virtual experiences inspire greater confidence among prospective guests and patron.”

Something else to keep in mind from the case study is…

“Among people surveyed, 67% want more business listings to have virtual tours. Of the remainder, 26% were indifferent, and 7% stated that more virtual tours were unnecessary.”

Too many businesses leave their business listing unfinished. Completing your business listing is important for both search and conversion results.

Google offers small business services that can be used to help a business of any size. For more information on enhanced business listings and other services, visit https://www.google.com/business.

What are your thoughts on Virtual Tours? Seen one? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below.

For almost 60 years our company has been manufacturing reliable construction equipment. The trust in the EDCO brand comes from decades of superior face-to-face customer service and training. To grow, we needed to expose more people to our high-quality service. Obviously, an upgraded Internet presence was the best way to reach new audiences. We had lots of online training ideas, but our outdated website prevented us from realizing them. We brought big ideas to Wood St who created an entirely new website based on... Read More